Landscaping in Biddeford, Maine.

With four in ten homes built before 1940, many Biddeford properties have a century of fill, old walks and mature trees under the surface. A new patio or walkway here starts with excavating down to good mineral soil, because whatever was there before, such as cinders, old foundations or buried brick, will not hold a compacted base. Front steps and walls on older homes usually look best rebuilt in granite or natural stone that suits the house.

In the older neighborhoods, lots are small and access is tight. A compact patio, a clean-edged front bed or a lawn brought back with aeration and overseeding often does more for a property than a big project would.

The Maine Forest Service lists Biddeford, in York County, in its quarantines for emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, spongy moth and white pine blister rust. Big old street and yard trees close to houses need arborist-grade pruning. Biddeford declares parking bans storm by storm, as Snow Emergencies or Blizzard Emergencies, so a plowed driveway matters when the street is off-limits.